A Lullaby
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: Elizabeth is having nightmares after betraying Jack. She then finds a strange cure for them.


The kraken's mouth was filled with teeth, thousands of little knives meant for slicing apart flesh and bone. The size of its mouth made it look easy for the beast to just up and swallow the Pearl whole, but its love of ripping ships apart with its tentacles always won out.

Elizabeth watched as the monster bore down on Jack, his own cutlass raised in one final attack as he was surrounded by teeth.

He was soon gone, followed by the Black Pearl…and it was all her fault.

She woke with a start, looking around in confusion at her odd surroundings. Odd objects were hanging from the walls, and the smell of old spices filled her nostrils.

"Where..?"

The dream came back to her and she sighed.

She was in one of Tia Dalma's rooms, separate from everyone else; including Will. Tia had offered it to her, hinting that perhaps Elizabeth needed to be alone to think about previous actions she had taken.

Guilt slowly started to creep into her again and she curled up, hugging her knees to her chest as Jack's last moments flashed through her mind over and over again.

The entire crew of the Black Pearl had been so crushed by the loss of the ship and their slightly off captain; even Barbossa had said that he was sorry to hear that Jack was currently in Jones' Locker. Tears had even been shed by a few of the hardened pirates as they shared stories about his past exploits.

She shuddered as she thought about what would happen to her if her treachery was discovered by the others.

"I'm dead…" she groaned and was about to sink deeper into her own guilt and despair when faint music caught her attention.

Frowning, she looked up and strained her ears to listen. It sounded like an Irish flute, but who could possibly be playing it, let alone play it well like that?

Slowly she uncurled herself and got to her feet; drawn by both the sad melody and the question of who was playing.

The melody grew louder as she neared the front of Tia's home. In the main room, she was forced to step over slumbering pirates as she discovered that the music was coming from just outside the front door.

She was forced to stop when she reached Pintel; who was currently acting as a very good block between her and the music.

The balding pirate was lying sprawled on the ground, his ample stomach rising and falling with each breath that came out of his open mouth.

Elizabeth frowned and rolled her eyes at the sight, but then something clicked and she realized that something was missing from this picture.

Ragetti wasn't beside Pintel.

As a matter of fact, Ragetti wasn't in the room at all.

Her eyebrows rose as realization dawned on her as the music changed to a happier tune.

She was forced to climb onto a chair and hop over Pintel, but soon she was at the door and slowly she pushed it open and peaked outside.

Her eyes grew wide in surprise.

Ragetti was sitting on the porch, his legs swinging over the side as he played an Irish flute into the darkness.

She carefully stepped outside and soon enough she was standing right beside him and for a moment she wondered how he could have not noticed her yet as she stood in touching distance from him.

The hole in his face reminded her and she blushed when she realized that she was standing in his literal blind spot. She moved to the other side out of respect, standing there quietly as he continued to play his flute.

He opened his eye after a while, and the music stopped abruptly as he gasped at her apparent sudden appearance.

"Poppet…"

"Don't stop. You play beautifully." She said. He blushed and looked down at the wooden flute in his hands.

"No' really…" he mumbled.

"Why do you say that?" she asked, sitting down beside him.

"Pinters always says tha' a pirate don' play the flute."

"Pinters?"

"Pintel." He explained. "Me matelot."

"Oh. But surely the others like your playing, yes?"

"Cap'n Jack used to yell at me all the toime when I played me flute…'e took me ole 'un an' threw et inta the fire once actually; 'e said tha' I gave 'im a 'eadache."

Elizabeth huffed, guessing that copious amounts of rum were at fault for Jack's headaches.

"Well I think that you're flute playing is lovely!" she said. "Play me something?"

He hesitated, looking back over his shoulder at the closed front door.

"They're all fast asleep." She assured him. He looked back over at her with a shy smile and he then nodded as he licked his lips.

He played "Hoist the Colours" for her, unable to help the blush that crept over his gaunt cheeks as she smiled at his playing.

"That was such a strange song." She noted as the song ended. "What is it called?"

"Et's called 'oist the Colours." Ragetti explained. "There ar' words tha' go wi' et bu'…"

"But what?"

"I'm no' allowed ta sing 'em aloud."

"Why not? Do they insult your singing too?" He giggled, shaking his head.

"No, et's jus' yer no' supposed ta sing 'em aloud unless somethin' 'appens tha' threatens pirates everywhere." He explained. "Et's a signal really."

"A signal? For what?"

"I…I don' fink I'm the righ' 'un ta explain et ta yer." He mumbled; his cheeks burning as he realized his little slip. "I'm gittin' tired actually…" he added, starting to get up.

His wrist was caught in her hand, and he looked down at her with raised eyebrows.

"I…I've been having nightmares." She admitted. "About what happened to Jack."

He nodded with some understanding and he smiled as he helped her back onto her feet and opened the door for her to step inside first before following after her into her bedroom.

A little while later, he came back out, slipping his flute into a small pocket on the inside of his green jacket as he headed over to where Pintel lay. He then laid down beside him, snuggling in close with a small smile on his lips.

Pintel woke up slightly, looking over at Ragetti groggily.

"Where ya been, Rags?" he mumbled, pulling him in closer.

"Jus' singin' Poppet a lullaby ta 'elp 'er sleep."

"Wot?"

"She were 'avin' nightmares."

Pintel was too tired to stay awake and sensible for very long, and his eyes soon fluttered closed as he slipped back to sleep.

Ragetti watched his lover sleep with a faint smile before kissing his lips, closing his own eyes soon enough, humming the lullaby to himself before slipping into a quiet slumber.


End file.
